I'm halfway through reassembling a sad Kodak Flash Supermatic shutter, that an Ektar 203 came mounted in, on a sad Burke & James 4x5 press. I'm having a few issues with the shutter. I'm not sure why this thing is giving me such a hard time, as I've had no issue tearing down Rapax shutters and getting them up and running again, but this thing is getting the best of me.

Is there a manual floating around for the Flash Supermatic? I've looked at the military anniversary speed graphic manual that briefly covers this and gives an exploded view, but I'd like something a little more detailed.

The first issue I'm having is that the shutter blades don't always open as they should. I figured out the blade controller latch isn't always doing its job...sometimes it catches the tab that sticks out from the blade controller, sometimes not. Is something misadjusted, is the spring weak, or is the latch just worn out?

shutter cocked:

shutter tripped, blade controller latch not doing its job:

shutter tripped, blade controller latch working properly:

Next, when I was taking the plate/cover for the escapement gears off, this ridiculously tiny spring was just hanging out, loose. I can't tell if it's broken or not, nor can I figure out where it belongs. Any insight? The spring is sitting on top of the escapement plate.

Lastly, do I have the high speed spring positioned correctly on the high speed cam? When installing the metal plate that covers all of this, does one have to preload this spring? It was really late at night when I tore this thing apart, and I can't remember if it had tension in it.

Pictures 1, 2 & 3: Loosen the slotted screw post between the main drive assembly and the outer case, reposition the latch spring so that it puts just enough tension on the lug of the latch arm so that the latch arm moves to its closest position toward the outer case edge then tighten the screw post. The spring may change position and under tension the latch arm when tightening the screw post which is what may have happened.

Picture 4: Lift the gear plate up so that the retarding sector will just slide under the delay gear plate and mesh the gears so that the retard plate gear when at its travel limit meshes with the retard sector gear with the outer edge of the sector gear approximately 1/8 inch from the case.
The anti backlash spring goes between the gear plate and the gear plate stud at the sector gear end. Install the gear plate screw, align the anti backlash spring parallel to the case and tighten the screw. Place the exposed end of the anti backlash spring in the lug on the plate sector gear.

Picture 5: You're good to go._________________The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

I ended up not tearing it down to the bare case; the blades and blade actuator moved really freely and snappy. I got the shutter back together, and it runs awesome. 1/400 runs a little slower than I'd like...I might end up tearing it down to the bare case to see if that remedies it. Other than 1/400, the thing runs awesome. I'm impressed with how spot-on the rest of the speeds are.

The aperture should be silky smooth from wide open to fully stopped down and back.
The shutter blade controller should move the shutter blades with the weight of a 1/4 inch long down feather applied to it when free of any operating mechanism.

An aperture repair requires full case disassembly.
Shutter blades and the blade controller require the removal of the main plate.

The speeds above 1/100-1/125 are controlled by the cam and spring in picture 5.

You have a very good shutter if all speeds except 1/400 are in tolerance._________________The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.